“MR CHAIRMAN,” read the letter signed by the prime minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin for Yasser Arafat. “In response to your letter of Sept 9, 1993, I wish to confirm to you that, in light of the PLO commitments included in your letter, the Government of Israel has decided to recognise the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation) the representative of the Palestinian people and commence negotiations with the PLO within the Middle East peace process.”
The exchange of letters of recognition, followed by an uneasy handshake on the White House lawn, ended years of attempts at mutual negation by Israelis and Palestinians. The Declaration of Principles that was signed that same day and witnessed by President Bill Clinton, however, has since failed, in part due to the assassination of Rabin by an Israeli extremist named Yigal Amir.